


Rest in Peace

by interlude



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Chuck as God, Episode: s08e19 Taxi Driver, Gen, Purgatory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-12-07 10:35:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/747542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interlude/pseuds/interlude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benny can't remember how long it's been since he returned to Purgatory when a man approaches him, asking him if he'd like to find a way out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rest in Peace

Purgatory, when Benny returns, is the same.

Where Earth had changed greatly in his fifty year absence, Purgatory stays consistent. And is comforting in it’s consistency - much like returning home after a long and rather draining vacation, though with considerably more bloodshed.

He thinks again to Dean’s words: Purgatory is pure.

It is tiring, of course, and the constant battle and lack of companionship makes him long for good Louisiana style cooking and Dean beside him. (“Did I eva’ tell you about my explorations in the Caribbean, brotha’?” he might ask as they sip at their beers, for he doesn’t think he ever had a chance to tell those stories and he has many fond memories from that time.)

Stil, while Purgatory is certainly no eternal paradise, Benny settles easily into the routine. Kill. Run. Rest. Kill. Without a human beside him, he has to stop less often for rest and is sought out by fewer monsters, but he misses Dean with a fierce longing he imagines one may feel for their true kin.

It’s impossible to tell the time in Purgatory. There are periods of light and dark, but the days run together into long blurs. Benny focuses only on the present - on the body’s struggling with his own, on the weariness that screams for him to find temporary shelter, on the hunger that sends him searching for a meal.

Sometimes, though far rarer than he would like, Benny talks with the other inhabitants. All creatures in Purgatory are monsters, true, but not every soul in Purgatory is monstrous.

There are some who, like him, had originally been human - who still remembered their humanity and clung too it desperately, even here. And there were those who had never been human, though acted with a sanity and goodliness that blurred the lines between human and monster.

You can always tell the difference. It’s rather easy: just watch for the ones that immediately attack with a bloodlust in their eyes.

Benny has spoken with werewolves and vampires, djinns and dragons, changelings and kitsunes, and still others that he could never identify. Eventually they part ways, but in the meantime he can enjoy the conversation.

It’s never the same as it was with Dean though. He never again finds that fierce loyalty, that easy connection. He never trusts any of his temporary companions in the way he trusted - and was trusted by - Dean. He can only hope that Sam and Dean Winchester are safe on Earth.

Benny hasn’t a clue how long it’s been since he returned when, one day, as he’s pulling his blade from the chest of a Vetala, a figure steps into the clearing.

It is a man - or man-shaped - and far smaller and scrawnier than Benny, with messy hair and a thick beard, and clothes that might once have been expensive and pristine, but are now rather rumpled. He is, however, lacking in a complete coating of dirt - rather rare for Purgatory’s inhabitants.

He waits for the attack, but it doesn’t come. Instead, the man regards him with a small smile. “Benny, correct? Dean’s Benny?”

The tip of his blade is immediately pointed towards the man’s chest in warning. “And you are?”

The man laughs. “A friend. Of Dean’s.” He suddenly appears sheepish, reaching a hand back to rub at his neck. “I think, at least. Perhaps an acquaintance. Or maybe a nuisance, really, I don’t think he really liked me.” He pauses. “Well, we never wanted each other dead,” he finally decides.

It’s better than nothing. “And if I say I am, what’s it matter to you?”

The man doesn’t appear threatening - Benny thinks he would be able to pick him up with one hand and thrown him over the nearest tree - but looks can be deceiving and there is something off about him, something inhuman and powerful.

“I’m here to pay Dean a favor. Or rather, give him something in return for all he’s sacrificed.”

Benny waits for a further explanation, and when it doesn’t come, prompts the man with a “What sort of favor?”

“I’d like to get you out of here.”

Benny considers it. Before he’d met Dean, escaping Purgatory was all he had wanted. But Earth, he had discovered, wasn’t the relief he had hoped for. If he returns, it is likely he will find his way back to Purgatory fairly quickly.

The man interrupts his thoughts. “Oh, no, not back to Earth. You didn’t quite fit in, right? I meant to Heaven.”

Benny thinks it’s a joke at first, chuckling a bit before he sees the man’s earnest face. “You’re not kidding.” He can’t help but laugh again. “Even if you could catch me a ride to the top floor, according to Dean Heaven has it’s fair share of problems. Better stay here where I won’t be disappointed.”

A grimace crosses the man’s face, exasperation and embarrassment alike in his expression. “Yes, well, I’ll admit it hasn’t been the greatest in the past hundred years or so. Though we’re working out the kinks now, getting it running again in good condition. A bit a polish you know. Heaven 2.0, the heavily edited version. Lots of jumping around and lots of fun and just generally better.”

He pauses again, staring at Benny. “I’d take away the fangs and blood cravings, of course. You were human once; you still have a human soul. You could stop fighting, stop running, and even meet some old friends of the Winchesters, I’m sure a few of them would like you. And of course, when Dean finally kicks the bucket and actually stays dead, you could be there to greet him.

Get that beer and the Louisiana cooking you’ve been craving,” he says with a smile.

Benny has no reason to trust him - that he’s telling the truth or that he can actually deliver what he’s promising - but it does sound tempting. It sounds nice, like he hasn’t had in a while. And what’s the worse that could happen if he is lying - what more could he be forced to face than an eternity of fighting and running?

So he nods, drops his weapon and steps forward to shake on it.

The man smiles.

—

“You shouldn’t do so much for them.”

“They deserve it, though, don’t they? After all they’ve been through? All they’ve given up?” Chuck asks. “Besides,” he reasons, “if I didn’t interfere, they’d only find a way to break the rules themselves.

Death sighs. “You spoil them, I hope you know. Them and that wayward angel. Completely unprofessional, I’ll remind you, to choose favorites.”

“Yes, you’d know something about picking favorites, wouldn’t you,” Chuck argues, nudging Death’s shoulder. “I know you’re planning to reap Dean yourself.”

“I heard you promise the vampire to remodel Heaven,” Death says instead. “I hope this means that you are finally going to end your extended vacation and return. I’ve become tired of power trips from abandoned angels.”

“I suppose it’s time.” Chuck leans back, stretching his arms high. “Though I have enjoyed my time off. Management isn’t very fun. I like writing better. Better hours. Plus you can do it in your bathrobe and boxes while eating microwave pizza and no one cares if you get sauce all over your fingers.

But you’re right. Things kind of went to shit. And I need to fix it. Plus, it’d be nice for them to have something wonderful waiting for them when they finally die, don’t you think?”

After everything, Chuck thinks, they deserve it.


End file.
